Free solar for Africa?

The African continent is not homogeneous. The constant gap between the way we perceive the north of the continent and the harsh reality that the South is going through is often surprising. Many start to see and praise the 'African miracle” progresses. However, many obstacles remain for Africa to impose its way. The sun, is a natural, free and abundant wealth in the African land, would it not be the solution to reduce the high energy losses suffered by Africans?

The supposed free sun

Is the sun is a free and accessible source of energy? We tend to think so but it remains to be demonstrated. The African continent knows of similar agro-climatic conditions as many other countries under the same latitudes. Between the two tropics, the desert wilderness might say , through a rainfall gradient reaches its maximum at the equator , so the Africans receive , overall, no more, no less sun than their South American counterparts , Australian and Asian .

However, as noted by journalist Adrian Hart, the prejudice on this subject is legion “you do not have electricity? But the sun is free, so try solar energy! “. A position that is not exclusive to the West. Indeed, for Garai Makokoro, Director of the Energy Technology Institute of Zimbabwe, 'to develop the NEPAD countries need to find less expensive sources of energy while minimizing environmental risks and ensuring their sustainability. Solar energy is clean and renewable, and satisfies this equation... “.

He goes on to say that “African countries need to be creative. As the sun is free.” From there to think that Africans do not see where their interests lie, there is only one step. The reality is obviously not so simple, because if the solar resource is indeed abundant in Africa. However, converting this resource into usable energy has a cost that not everybody can afford.

Africa has both the largest number of poor and most homes do not have access to electricity. An estimated 1.5 billion people living in developing countries have no access to electricity and among them 80% of them live in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia. In sub -Saharan Africa, it is 86% rural and 40% of urban dwellers have no access to electricity.

Why advocate for the poorest, the most expensive energy?

In the same article , Garai Makokoro mentions that the goal for economic solar energy to reach grid parity , that is to say, to reduce the unsubsidized cost of solar energy at a level equal or less than the cost of electricity from conventional network. But if we take the case of developed countries, this objective could only be envisaged that by 2020 in areas with strong sunlight (Spain, Japan , USA ).

To this is added to the purely solar systems, which represent systems not connected to the network, more than 40 % of fees to finance storage. But beyond the initial investment, while the lifetime of the solar panels is over 25 years, in sub-Saharan Africa, a battery does not exceed 3 years. Yet it is these autonomous systems that are subject to many projects on the continent. They are supported by grants which sustainability is not assured, especially in these times of budget shortages and scarcity of resources allocated to development assistance. Not to mention the fact that these support mechanisms often cause market distortions , particularly among suppliers, which may, for windfall , ultimately delaying the diffusion of technology and the emergence of private operators.

While solar energy, radiation deceptive? As often, the solutions can be provided to expand our horizons. The development of technologies based on energy mix, combining solar and other energy sources available on the continent, would reduce the cost of electricity production and make it accessible in disadvantaged areas. In fact, for Professor Yao Azoumouha , Director at 2IE the Joint Research Centre 'Energy and Sustainable Living' , a specialist of solar technologies , ' we can no longer meet current and future challenges of access to energy services in rural and peri-urban African with conventional technologies taken isolation. Innovation is imposed on us. Energy mix and intelligent systems are essential, optimal and sustainable solutions for rural electrification. Our researchers are part of this process through the development of an original concept of a hybrid system called flexy-energy that will revolutionize the supply of electricity in disadvantaged areas. '

In 2007, SciDev reported that just over 2.5 million households in developing countries have access to electricity from solar home systems which represent 1.6% on the basis of 10 per household. A number to compare with the 650 million African mobile phone subscribers who represent 65% of the total population.

In conclusion, it would be wise to simply assume that we are all rational homo economicus . And also in Africa, where even the poorest adhere to the new technologies, now available to them, and exploit them to improve the efficiency of their economic and social environment.

Related articles

In this post we examine the economics of solar + storage. Specifically, we calculate the value of solar and storage for two commercial buildings in each of three markets: California, New York, and Hawaii. We find solar and storage are strongly synergistic in all three markets.
The NPVs of solar + storage investments are greater than the sum of the NPVs of solar investments and storage investments alone because, among other reasons:
The combination allows for much larger demand charge reductions than either...

Massachusetts is known for being the landing place of the Mayflower, home to the first subway, and birthplace of four presidents. But one thing residents may not be aware of is that their home state was ranked sixth nationally for producing solar energy in 2016.
Massachusetts has a proud history of investment in renewable energy and the state now has roughly 15,095 people working within the solar industry. Companies in the Massachusetts solar market not only install solar arrays for residential areas and businesse...

When Robert Kennedy Jr. moved to his Malibu, California home he wanted to put solar panels on his roof as quickly as possible.
“We have a big household – we have seven children. My kids always have friends here so there is a lot going on at this house and there is substantial energy used.”
There were several reasons he wanted to go solar.
“You’re doing something for your country, you are doing something for your children and you’re doing something for yourself because...

The numbers stack up nicely: Three Staten Island homes, three rooftops, 62 solar panels and 19,236kW of projected energy generated each year. All three newly-solar-powered homes are neighbors, and they all switched to solar power with NRG Home Solar on the same day.
But what do the numbers really mean, and how do they translate into energy savings? We’re glad you asked. (Even though—technically—we’re the ones that asked.)
In just one day the three solar installations could generate:
Enoug...

Solar is on the rise in the United States. As of March 2016, Solar Energy Industries Association released figures showing the top states for solar power. Here are a few states that are shining bright when it comes to solar.
New York
New York has tremendous solar potential and has regularly been in the top 10 list of U.S. solar states. The Empire State has installed 638 MW of solar capacity, which is enough to power 108,000 homes. New York is also fourth place for solar job creation, with 8,250 employees in the...

Customer comments

No comments were found for Free solar for Africa?. Be the first to comment!